Bloody Gryffindor's and their Weather
by SalamanderLights
Summary: ONESHOT. "Making strange hand gestures does not constitute to telling me what you are up to, Lupin" he whispered, moving closer to the patch of wall that the sandy haired man seemed intent on touching. SS/RL/HG. Written for Twin Exchange Monthly Challenge - August 2012.


_**Twin**** Exchange Monthly Challenge – August 2012**_

**Prompts:**

Phobias

Procrastinating

**Pairing:**

Hermione/Remus

**Quote:**

"Are you even listening?"

**Theme:**

Hogwarts/Back to School

Disclaimer – JK owns all.

The weather, for once, seemed to be honouring the art of storytelling as flashes of lightning lit up the dark sky and claps of thunder could be heard by all those in the possession of ears within a few miles of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; the current central point of the apparent storm. It was September 1st and the usually cheery Welcome Feast had been dampened somewhat by the constant pelting of rain on the enchanted ceiling.

Moving swiftly and silently through the halls of an – to a certain degree – eerie castle, Severus Snape commenced his first night time patrol of the new school year. He didn't really expect the dunderheads to break the rules on their first night back, but one could never be too sure. The notion was shortly reaffirmed as a figure swam into his vision up ahead; half of the culprits' body was squashed flat against the wall, the other half, from what he could tell in the dim lighting, was peering round the corner onto a soaking wet balcony that was at the mercy of the elements beyond the stone walls of the castle.

"_Lupin_" he sneered in an attempt to mask his shock at seeing the newly reinstated DADA professor out so late, and if he was honest, acting rather peculiarly, "not that I'm at all interested in the antics of a werewolf, but what on earth are you doing?"

The man whirled around – as though, for a reason he might never know, his heighten canine senses had not picked up on his approach. Maybe he was just_ that_ quiet when he moved? A smug smile pulled at the corners of his mouth – a lone finger pressed to his lips as if he wanted him to remain silent. Who did that mutt think he was? Hadn't he just proved he was noiseless? Nobody asked for Severus Snape to be quiet and just expect it to happen. Besides, he was quiet enough as it was. In fact, he was likely to _make_ conversation just to irritate the person requesting his silence.

But despite it all, he found himself lowering his voice as he once again spoke to the man before him.

"Making strange hand gestures does not constitute to telling me what you are up to, Lupin" he whispered, moving closer to the patch of wall that the sandy haired man seemed intent on touching.

"I'm keeping an eye on Miss Granger" Professor Lupin spoke in hushed tones, "she's been sat out there" he indicated the balcony with his head as more thunder rolled the sky "for the majority of the storm and I just can't figure out wh- are you even listening?"

"No" he replied in a slow but blunt drawl, stealthily moving to watch the chit for himself. She was, for lack of a better phrase, soaked to the bone; the balcony had no cover to keep the prevailing rain away from the bench she was sat upon. The girls' usually untameable hair was plastered to the back of her head as she stared straight up into the night's sky, oblivious to the men lurking in shadows behind her.

"Well what do you think she's doing?" Lupin enquired, unable to think up any reason for a pupil to be sat alone in the pouring rain.

"Having a private moment that we're intruding on?"

"I was thinking more procrastinating from her school work."

He almost, _almost_, barked out a laugh at that. It was a good thing he managed to restrain himself as the Dungeon Bat did _not_ laugh; he could always have passed it off as thunder anyway. "One, Lupin, this is _Hermione Granger_ and when has she _ever_ skipped out on her work? Two, it's the _first day back_, as such she has no work."

"Well if you're so clever, oh great and noble Potions Master, what do you think is the matter with her?"

"I think she's scared" he answered honestly, gazing once more around the corner at the frozen girl. It was almost unnoticeable – but most assuredly there – that every time a clap of thunder sounded, the chit flinched ever so slightly, almost as though she were withdrawing into herself at the noise. And then, on every flash of lightening, he watched as a shiver ran up and down the girls spine before she returned to stoically staring at the overactive horizon.

There was nothing else for it; Hermione Granger was scared of thunder storms.

It was just a little bit of bad weather, and yet the girl was rigid in fear. Although saying that, he had come across students that had been scared of far less. Take that fifth year Hufflepuff girl he had taught about four years ago, she, for reasons he knew not, had suddenly developed a very severe fear of newt eyes. And he, being the snarky person he was, decided to 'remedy' the girls' troubles by slightly adjusting his syllabus to include as many potions containing newt eyes as possible. The girl never passed her Potions NEWT. Ironic, that. _Then_, there was Longbottom. That boy was just afraid of _him_ in general, which created an entire new level of amusement. Oh the times he had snuck up behind the boy only to announce himself at the most terrifying of times…

"Scared of what?" Lupin broke through the wall of his musings like a hammer going through an intricate glass window.

"The storm, you dunderhead" he replied in his usual silky drawl since Granger was obviously too wrapped up in the flashes and bangs of the outside world to even realise she was being watched.

"There's no need to be so snarky, Severus" the concerned werewolf returned just as harshly, leaning out from his wall-safety to glance once more at the petrified girl. "And what, pray tell, would the girl be doing outside, _in the middle of a storm_, if she's so apparently scared of them?"

Damn. That was a good question. Why _would_ the girl sit out in it if she didn't like it? Was she stupid? Well, as much as he hated to say it, he couldn't deny that the girl had brains. So wh-

Oh wait, she was a Gryffindor.

Case solved.

"What stupidly supposedly-brave house is she in?" he asked in exasperated voice, as though he were speaking to a particularly dumb student. He knew that the DADA professor was far from stupid, but at the moment he seemed, for the most part, rather slow. Chancing a look at the man as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, he could clearly see the worry etched into his features. The man cared for his students; that he could tell. But a care-addled brain would do nothing for getting the girl in out of the cold. "When has Miss Granger ever let anything beat her, Remus? Never. She has overcome everything that has been thrown at her. And this, obviously, is another step on her way to being her own boss. Imagine the propaganda if it got out that the girl of the Golden Trio was at the mercy of the weather? And in the mind of a Gryffindor – a place I dare not venture often – the way to beat a fear is to face it. Rather head on in this case."

"I see your point" the sandy haired man conceded, "I just don't like to see her torture herself out there. And look" the man pointed round the corner once more as yet another flash of light parted the clouds "she's shivering!"

"Remus" he sighed "I, quite frankly, do not care. If the girl wants to make herself ill, then let her do it. If she wants to conquer her fright, then so be it. If you want to interrupt her with your overinflated sense of responsibly, then please, do it quietly."

He turned – rather dramatically at that as a crash of thunder sounded as he span around, his cloak billowing out around him – and continued on his journey up the corridor, only glancing back to the balcony once. But once was all he needed to see Professor Lupin remove his own cloak, venture out into the elements, and drape it over the shoulders of the sodden student.


End file.
